Entries tagged with: Halloween

"It wasn't until concertgoers arrived at the gates that they finally learned what classic album Phish would cover in its entirety during their "musical costume" set at Festival 8. Reviving a tradition that began in 1994 when Phish covered The Beatles' The White Album, last night the quartet staged an ambitious cover of the Rolling Stones' 18-song double LP, Exile on Main St. As in years past, the costume choice was a closely-guarded secret until the day of the show, when thousands of "Phishbill" programs (à la Playbill) were distributed, complete with bios of the "cast," which included Sharon Jones on vocals and members of the Dap Kings on horns." [LAist]

Phish fans (see above) decscended on the Coachella Music Festival site for three days over Halloween weekend. Lots of pictures, and all tour dates (including a just-announced four-night New Years Eve run in Miami, below...

I'm barely recovered from post-CMJ cold and we've got a week that is so packed with good shows it feels like another festival is in town.

Mercury Prize nominees The Invisible are playing their first U.S. shows this week, starting with a free one tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. Their lauded debut album doesn't fit into one easy category, which befits a band on Matthew Herbert's label. It's all fairly warm and soulful, but with forays into funk, sparse ballads, electro and Krautrock. There's a lot going on and I'll be curious to see how a three-piece can pull it off live. The Invisible also play Santos tomorrow (11/5) opening for Dragonette, and then on Friday at Pianos (11/6) where they'll be on the same bill as Freelance Whales.

The Mary Onettes, here from Sweden, play their first NYC show this year, tonight (11/4) at Union Hall where they'll play with Blacklist. As I said before, like a lot of the bands on Labrador, The Mary Onettes love the '80s and wear those influences on their black-clad sleeves. But their second album, Islands, wears them a little more subtly, though they are still writing reach-for-the-stars chorus -- now with strings. I like them a lot. They also play Friday (11/6) at Studio @ Webster Hall and then Sunday (11/8) at Mercury Lounge.

Grass Widow

San Francisco's awesome Grass Widow are also in town this weekend for a string of dates, starting tomorrow (11/5) at The Woodser with Frankie & the Outs, Air Waves and Hot Box. (There was to be a second show tomorrow, late at Monster Island, but that has been cancelled.) There are more than a few all-girl trios out there playing vaguely C-86 style indie (including fellow San Franciscans Brilliant Colors), but Grass Widow write better songs than most, and I really like both 12" EPs they've released this year.

The Woodser show was to be notable as the live debut of Frankie & the Outs, but then they went and played Halloween night at similarly named Willliamsburg bar The Woods (picture above). Frankie's debut single, "Thee Only One," is out now and is worth picking up -- though I think more for the dreamy b-side "Hollow Life" than the A-side (good as it is, and downloadable above) which is a little more of what you'd expect from someone who spent time in Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. Frankie's got a way with harmonies, and the less that gets in the way of them, the better. There were a couple of songs The Outs did Saturday which were similarly laid back, and the best songs of the night.

The Bitters

Grass Widow also play Market Hotel on Friday night (11/6) along with Vivian Girls, The Bitters and Stupid Party. If you haven't heard The Bitters, the Toronto duo feature Ben Cook of Fucked Up (who play Thursday at Masonic Temple) and Aerin Fogel. They've got a single and an EP on Captured Tracks, the latter of which I dig (haven't heard the single yet). While definitely on the "low" end of the "fi" scale, Bitters are different from anything else on Captured Tracks with an early-'60s rock n' roll vibe (or early '80s West Coast punk), and Ben and Aerin's harmonies front-and-center.|

Grass Widow also play Saturday (11/7) afternoon at the Brooklyn Museum with Crystal Stilts and the Beets, a show which finally today was officially announced by the museum...

"Inspired by Gail's idea, and because we love Brooklyn photographers, on First Saturday we are inviting local photographers to come and shoot the bands that are playing and post their photos to the Brooklyn Museum's flickr group. Afterwards, Bob Gruen, a rock photography legend who is featured in the exhibition and has shot the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Clash, will look at the photos and blog about his favorites here!" [Brooklyn Museum]

Grass Window then play again at Market Hotel that night, for a show with Small Black, Pictureplane, Girls at Dawn and Cale Parks (formerly of Aloha). They're also going to play somewhere on Sunday (11/8)... venue TBA. Go see them if you can.

Carsick Cars

There's also the China Underground Invasion tour this weekend, with three of Beijing's best indie rock bands: Carsick Cars, PK-14 and Xiao He. In particular, I'm excited about Carsick Cars who I've actually heard of prior to this tour thanks to a friend who is living in Beijing and occasionally sends me music. They're definitely of the Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr school of noise n' drone. I only just got their new album, You Can Listen, You Can Talk, but have been listening to their 2008 debut a lot, and am told that its "Zhong Nan Hai" is like the Beijing indie anthem. The tour hits PowerHouse Arena tomorrow (11/5), Glasslands on Friday (11/6) and Santos on Saturday (11/7).

Tonight (11/4) is also the second week of The Answering Machine's three-week residency at Coco 66. The band has also added three more NYC dates while they're here: Nov. 9 at Pianos, Nov. 11 at Bruar Falls and Nov. 12 at Cake Shop.

Tahiti 80

And finally, Saturday night (11/7) French pop band Tahiti 80 play Mercury Lounge (tickets). When it comes to Franco-pop, Phoenix get the lion's share of the attention, but Tahiti 80 have been at it almost as long (if not just as long) and have made four danceable, hook-filled albums. The most recent of which, Activity Center, came out last year in France but is just now getting an American release. The band have retreated a bit from the full-on disco that was 2005's Fosbury, and gone back to the '60s sunshine of 2002's Wallpaper for the Soul which definitely suits them better. I haven't seen them play in ages, but they were always a good live band. Opening is Brookville, the other band from Ivy's Andy Chase -- who also produced Tahiti 80's first two albums.

After the Very Bestcanceled their CMJ appearances in late-October because of travel issues, the band had apparently sorted things out in time for their Halloween show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. The band wrote: "were super sorry and gutted we had to cancel all the shows so far on the USA tour. we where applying for another visa which took longer than we where told and esau's passport was held. we finally got the passport back and will do the last leg on the tour startin on staurday in new york! sooo sorry and we hope to be back soon and make up for this fuckup."

Despite that, the group performed without singer Esau Mwamwaya at the Brooklyn Halloween show. The only members in attendence were DJ Johan Hugo (aka 1/2 of production team Radioclit) and two of the group's dancers. (Flavorpill, who put on the show, describe the act in their post-show coverage as "The Very Best Sound System.") Other performers on hand for the charity event were Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, Sub Swara, DJ Kyle Hall, DJ Stretch Armstrong, $mall ¢hange, and VDRK & Bradley D.

Esau did play Boston the following night and will (we hope) be in attendence at their Santos Party House show on Wednesday, November 4th. Ticketsare on sale. Sleigh Bells ("electroclash/dancepunk [from] ex-Poison the Well Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss") open.

This will be Sleigh Bells' first post-CMJ show. They left the festival with lots of extra hype. Sheena Beaston wrote, "There's so many great things I coud tell you about their [October 21st] performance [at Santos Party House], which consisted f 5 songs, a guitar on 3, a tmabourine, and an iPod as a backing track. In short, it was one of the best live shows I've seen all year." Stereogum named them a "Band to Watch" one day after that same show. Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal said they were "one of this week's legit breakouts-- just might be the best thing I see all week." Pitchfork then gave their song "Crown on the Ground" "Best New Music" a few days later. Download it above.

The King Khan & BBQ Show - the two-man-band of King Khan and singer/drummer/rhythm guitarist Mark Sultan - were also in town to play their parts in Almighty Defenders, who performed at the Root Studio on Saturday, October 24th. Even though they were joined on stage by the energetic Black Lips at that show, the Bowery show with the duo alone was the grimier, rawer affair. That's where the pictures in this post were taken.

At the Bowery, King Khan, in a turquoise, fringed dress, and Mark Sultan, in a turban and cloak, swarmed the stage to the opening riff of "Johnny B Goode." People danced (got kicked out), cups flew out of the crowd, King Khan did his rounds and then settled into a sitar-position at the foot of the stage, and Mark Sultan laid out rhythm guitar, kick drum and dulcet tones.

A homespun aesthetic was central to the set - the pair played through tiny Vox Pathfinder amps more suited to a bedroom practice session, and sported an attractively handcrafted backdrop. They exchanged cues with telepathic charm and made a whole lot of noise playing from records old and new (including their newest LP, Invisible Girl). There was even some overlap with the Almighty Defenders set; the song "Too Much in Love", for one, done in shambolic, backyard fashion. The band paused on a serious note to give a dedication to musician and one-time Black Lip Bobby Ubangi, who passed earlier this year.

Earlier in the show, opener Lover (not to be confused with Lovvers) kicked things off with melodic garage punk that worked best played fast and harmonized. In the same vein, Dum Dum Girls (they played right before King Khan and BBQ) benefited from the emphatic desperation of songs like their closer, "Jail La La." Its pitiful cry of "Someone took my baby" put an emotional angle on their detached, vintage-reverb sound.

Dum Dum Girls' cover of GG Allin's "Don't Talk to Me" and another song from their Bruar Falls show are posted below.

The King Khan & BBQ Show have North American shows scheduled into December. Those dates and more pictures are below too...

The haunting, cryptic grind of Malkuth and the high-intensity shriek of Liturgy (in full corpsepaint) were quite the introduction for Mount Eerie's headlining set at Market Hotel on Halloween. The latest opus from Mt. Eerie (aka Phil Elverum), Wind's Poem, is a metal-inspired noise odyssey that manages to expertly pair brutal passages of distortion with ethereal lyrics and tender interludes usually found in his acoustic work. The somewhat rare occurrence of Phil's full-band tour, armed with the abrasive new album, was the obvious impetus for the creative holiday-night booking. Mount Eerie's live set, with Elverum backed by No Kids' Nick and Julia on synths and two drummers (one of which manned a massive gong), did not disappoint with its dynamic range - guitars blasted and died alongside Phil's whispered words.

No Kids, the quiet, restrained indie pop trio responsible for 2008's excellent Come Into My House, must have felt a bit out of place in the opening Halloween-night spot, but it was a different scene the following night at (Le) Poisson Rouge (I showed up too late to see them on Halloween so I stopped by the next night at LPR). At that show, the band followed classical pianist Dina Pruzhansky, whose opening set included selections from Debussy and Schumann. Welcoming the diversity, singer and songwriter Nick Krgovich played all his synth parts on the club's grand piano. Phil Elverum has been playing drums with the group all tour (drummer Justin Kellam has been living in Berlin) . His casual, sound-sensitive approach to the kit is rooted in his production style - subtle and unafraid of the occasional slip.

No Kids played a set of all new songs written for a forthcoming LP expected in fall 2010 (no word if they played the supremely excellent "For Halloween" on the night itself). The tunes dealt in Tin Pan Alley melodies (aided by the piano for synth substitution) and lyrics that painted a Hopperesque picture of isolation (and focused on Hollywood in specific terms). The crowd sat, still in a haze from Halloween, and soaked in the restrained songs.

I didn't see Tara Jane O'Neil's set either night. I don't believe she played at Market Hotel, but she was definitely set up to go at LPR. The Mount Eerie/No Kids/TJO tour continues through November 8th. Dates and more pictures from both shows are below...

We will be playing a secret show at a historic Los Angeles venue tonight. It holds a small amount of people and while we would love to have everyone join us, there just isn't room. So here's the plan... The first 30 people to sign up here will win a pair of tickets. If you are one of those lucky 30 people, you'll hear back from us with info on the show and location. For those of you who miss the cut off for the Halloween show, don't worry, we'll be playing a free Dia De Los Muertos show [on Sunday]. -Vampire Weekend

That was a message Vampire Weekend sent out on Halloween. The band played new songs from "Contra", and old songs, at that Halloween show and at the free one the next day at Hollenbeck Recreation Center Band Shell. Videos and more pictures from the Halloween show, below...

Titus Andronicus drama aside for a second, I was worried that the "party" crowd wouldn't be a good audience for the Jesus Lizard and Bad Brains. But as security pointed out, the audience very much treated the show like the "concert" it was. It got crazy for Jesus Lizard, energetic front-man David Yow included...

"The Jesus Lizard performed a ferocious set, with singer David Yow crowd diving and singing noise rock anthems while sweaty hands held him aloft. Meanwhile, the line outside on North 10th Street snaked around the block, as hundreds of costumed revelers waited in the rain to get inside." [The Wall Street Journal???]

The crowd was ferocious too, but ironically they were 10 times more ferocious for Bad Brains whose front-man just stood there in a white hoodie. Luckily for security (who after a few songs of frustration just let the show be), Bad Brains played a lot of reggae jams. That kept it relatively calm. Bad Brains setlist below. The Jesus Lizard will be back for two more NYC shows later this month.

The bands played upstairs in the two-level warehouse on North 10th Street between Berry and Wythe. Downstairs, and between bands, there were DJs. I was especially appreciative of all the classic 90's techno hits (at the 1994-themed party). The music mixed with the warehouse location, lights, and smoke machines probably made the Vice event more Maskarave than the actual Maskarave happening across the river. That felt especially true late night, after Bad Brains which was when the majority of the crowd left (and they weren't letting anyone else in). I don't know a lot of song names, but Moby's "Thousand", Josh Wink's "Don't Laugh", and "Percolator" were at least three of the more popular ones I remember hearing during the DJ sets from Dave 1 from Chromeo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Nick Catchdubs, Rub-N-Tug, and/or Blu Jemz. Earlier in night there was also lots of classic hip hop, sometimes accompanied with the song's video.

As promised, there was a skate ramp with skaters too (and all the alcohol was free) (I wish they had more porta potties though). More pictures below...

Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim, dressed as Andy Warhol and his It Girl Edie Sedgewick, took the stage to Fat Joe shouting "Where Brooklyn At?" over the sinister beat of his hit "Lean Back", while they threw out candy to the crowd before beginning a fun-filled set that included their infectious smash hit "Daylight" and short nods to Europe's "Final Countdown" and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part Two."

As for Weezer, they were dressed in various insect costumes, which vocalist Rivers Cuomo had audience members remove for himself his fellow band members while they continued to play "Undone (The Sweater Song)" early on in the set. The sold out house danced along to all the bouncy music Weezer had to offer (literally bouncy, as the band had a trampoline set up on stage), including hits such as "Perfect Situation", "Island in the Sun", "Surf Wax America", "Buddy Holly", "Pork and Beans", "Dope Nose", and new ones "I Can't Stop Partying", and "I'm Your Daddy." They also played an absolutely awesome cover of MGMT's "Kids", which took a detour to Lady GaGa's massive hit "Poker Face" in the middle. But as usual, it was "My Name is Jonas" that brought the house down.

The biggest surprise of the night, other than the cool cover, was an appearance by Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester. The TV star came out in nude pants splashed with random bursts of color and a 60's style beehive to sing a duet with vocalist Rivers Cuomo on "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To." She sang very well, and later Tweeted that Rivers was "perfection in a bottle." [Examiner]

"...At this point, Bad Brains were playing, and it was clear more trouble was in store, when some guy in some sort of medeival doungeon master getup tried to crowd surf during "Attitude," which inspired the security to storm the stage twelve or so deep, evacuate the Bad Brains, and stand like some sort of musclehead Stonehenge along the end of the stage, while their leader informed everyone, "This is not a concert, this is a party. Have a seat." Of course, the floor was covered in horrible grime and broken glass, but whatever.

Poor Bad Brains. Or is it? With all due respect to these legends of hardcore and reformed homophobes, I don't know if I can ever recall a more phoned-in performance in all my life. This should come as no surprise, based on the ubiquity of weed stench emenating from their dressing room, and the equally ever-present site of all-time-greatest-hardcore-singer front-runner HR sitting motionless on a couch (seriously - this hardcore legend did not move an inch during the whole evening!). I mean, whatever floats yr boat, HR, more power to you, but for this Greatest Hardcore Band Ever to get onstage and have their singer remain motionless in body and completely monotone in voice... I dunno, it is just not how I imagined it might be. Disappointing at best.

Well, this whole scene was fucked, clearly, and my ladyfriend was getting more and more disturbed by the assholery on display (or sexual harassment, as she would call it, and perhaps rightly so) and the constant picture-taking by stangers, that she had to go home and try and live like a reasonable person. I wish I could have followed her, but as will become a theme throughout this sad tale, I really needed the money. So, I escorted her out of the building and out of the hellish nightmare that was this party, and I was glad to see her moving towards a more peaceful and decent evening..." [Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus]

That is one small passage from a very long rant that Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus posted to his blog after an unpleasant experience at the Vice Halloween party on Saturday night. He goes on to talk about being kicked out of the show before getting to play, the Vice staff barely being able to get him back in, and him calling the cops!!! ("I made my second-ever call to 911"). Most of all he seems mad at the hired security company and encourages Vice to sue them.

He makes the whole night sound really horrible though - like really bad, which wasn't actually my own experience. I thought it was fun, though I wasn't kicked out. Security had a major presence, but what do you expect when you invite thousands of people to come drink for free in a giant warehouse in the middle of Williamsburg? My only discomfort was the bathroom lines. I almost peed my pants waiting for one of the porta potties!

Titus Andronicus performed as Weezer (a band that also played a Halloween show in NYC that night). They went on after Bad Brains (who played after Jesus Lizard) which was kind of weird because not that many people stuck around after the two headliners finished. Yes, HR of Bad Brains is a weirdo now and Bad Brains live are just kind of weird, but that's old news. Thanks to an enthusiastic crowd, the Bad Brains show was actually one of the craziest I can remember (security being weirdos for a minute aside). Read Patrick's whole rant HERE. More pictures from the show HERE. Watch some videos of the Bad Brains show, below...

"In a Halloween prank turned tragic, an MTA bus driver struck and killed a Bronx man who had just thrown a heavy object at the vehicle, shattering part of the front window,police said.

The incident raised the alarm of transit employees who were already on watch against increasingly violent pranksters on Halloween. Earlier in the day, a windshield on another Bronx bus was shattered after it was allegedly struck with a bullet from a BB gun." [AMNY]

Blackwolf the Dragonmaster, Itsi Atkins, lots of Michael Jacksons and Lady Gagas, and many other NYC characters showed up to the Halloween Parade on Saturday. Pictures HERE, HERE, and one final set, below...

Speaking of partying like it's 1994 on Halloween, Scotto is bringing back Maskarave to a secret not-Limelight mid-town church location on Halloween night. Ravers, buy advanced tickets at your own risk. That is, I give it a 50% chance of actually happening. Flyer below.

That is the description of a show happening at Secret Project Robot on Saturday night (Halloween), and speaking of BBQ, Mark Sultan (BBQ) is playing earlier at the Bell House that same night with King Khan. hmmm. The pair also play tonight (10/30) at Bowery Ballroom. The Junior Boys also play a show at The Bell House on Halloween.

Opening the KK/BBQ Bell House and Bowery shows are Dum Dum Girls who played Bruar Falls on Monday after a two-show Saturday at CMJ, the last of which was the Sub Pop / Hardly Artshow that Golden Triangle also played with Obits, Pissed Jeans and others.

Hopefully Cymbals Eat Guitars can rest after this weekend and before they leave for Europe (they kick off an overseas tour by opening or Wilco in Hamburg on November 7th). Frontman Joseph D'Agostino has been sick since CMJ, and the band canceled one in-store appearance at Sound Fix Records because of it. Last night (10/29) they made up that show in the store's new North 11th Street location, but Joseph was still really sick. Pictures above and below.

The Very Best were scheduled to play some CMJ shows, but plans changed last minute due to travel complications. Those complications must have been worked out because on October 31st Flavorpill is hosting "Gods and Heroes", a show with The Very Best, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, DJ Stretch Armstrong, Subswara, Small Change and more at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Tickets are on sale. Open bar all night. The money is going to charity. Flyer below...

Tim Fite is releasing Watch Your Mouth, the third album of his Halloween trilogy (for free) on October 31. He's also playing that night with The Woes and Via Audio at Union Hall. Tickets are still on sale. More info on the album and show below...

It's been a long time since Chuck Biscuits played drums for Danzig, but his NOT-sad passing reminded me that Danzig has some shows coming up. Not only is he one of the headliners at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest (coming very soon to Austin), but he'll be back in his home state for a show on the day after Christmas (when he'll probably be visiting mom). Tickets are on sale now for the show at Starland Ballroom.

One of the openers at the NJ show will be Doyle's band Gorgeous Frankenstein which means maybe Glenn and Doyle will do some Misfits songs together again. The other opener is Seventh Void whose members include Kenny Hickey (guitar) and Johnny Kelly (drums) of Type O Negative. They both also usually play in Danzig's band so I'm guessing that will be the case at this show too.

Seventh Void are currently on tour with Type O Negative, and opened the shows at Starland Ballroom and Nokia Theatre earlier this month. Seventh Void play their own show at Trash Bar in Brooklyn on November 21st.

According to eMusic, the above picture is John McCauley of Deer Tick as a California Raisin for Halloween. They also collected pictures from Bon Iver, Black Mountain, Dawes, The Black Lips, and many others.

I know many have been waiting anxiously for details on how to get in to the VICE 15th year anniversary party featuring live performances by Bad Brains and The Jesus Lizard. Well, now they're running a contest. Flyer and more details below...